True Blue BCU
by propertyofjanerizzoli
Summary: A drunken hookup with a softball player named Jane forever changes Maura's life...even if neither can remember exactly what happened that night. College AU.
1. Lost in Preppyland

**A/N: I've had this idea for a while now. The first two chapters will be short intros to each girl, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. Input is greatly appreciated and will be the deciding factor in whether this is continued. Thank you for reading. :)**

* * *

Move-in day approached faster than Jane had hoped and she had begun to question whether she had made the right choice. As one of the top universities in the country, Jane had expected BCU to be filled with America's best and brightest, but the more she looked at the luxury cars pulling into the parking lot, the more she wondered which of these students were in the top ten of their graduating class and which were accepted because of their parents' money.

Jane, like her best friend Coral, was there on an athletic scholarship and she was grateful their roommate request had been accepted. Neither were looking forward to sharing an adjoining bathroom with two other girls in the next room, but private bathrooms cost extra and, with what it cost to attend BCU even with a scholarship, Jane wouldn't dare ask her parents or Coral's to pay for a private bathroom.

"We should have gone to a state school," Jane told Coral as they were getting their bags from the trunk of Jane's car.

"But we didn't," Coral pointed out. "We're here for free, Jane. I get to play volleyball and you get to play softball. We're roommates. We're finally on our own. Maybe this place won't suck so bad when we're with the other athletes instead of all these preppy kids." She paused to stare at a girl carrying Louis Vuitton luggage. "I'm adding that to our drinking game."

The BCU Drinking Game was created during a moment of pseudo soul-searching just days before Jane and Coral were supposed to submit their intent to register. During her junior year, Jane had been recruited by nearly all of the powerhouse softball programs in the country: Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, Florida, Tennessee, and a few others whose acceptance letters were now taped to her wall at home. She could have gone anywhere, but instead she made the decision to stay in Boston while sitting on the roof of Coral's house after they had left an anti-prom party.

Boston was her home and, although the other schools had better softball teams, BCU could offer what the other schools couldn't: the chance to be close to home and her best friend. College was going to be a culture shock regardless of what school she attended, but at BCU she'd have Coral, her built-in support system, as she adjusted to her new life as a college student.

Jane and Coral were unaware of the percentage of students there on scholarship, but they imagined it was nothing in comparison to the amount of students whose parents had paid their year's tuition in full before the semester had actually began. They were still in the same city they grew up in, but this was a side of Boston they had never seen before. Jane and Coral were on what they considered preppy territory now and the BCU Drinking Game was going to be their coping mechanism.

The rules were simple. While they were on campus together, they'd look out for certain things that they had listed and whoever noticed it first pointed it out so the other would have to take a shot. They wouldn't be able to drink on campus, so they planned on keeping a tally and taking their respective amount of shots to help them unwind in the privacy of their own room.

They had to take a shot for every guy they met whose name contained a roman numeral, for every designer iPhone case, for every time someone mentioned Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard, for every girl who wore pearls, and ten or fifteen other rules in addition to Jane's newly added 'take a shot for every time you see Louis Vuitton luggage.' The list was continuously growing and, as Jane looked around at the other freshmen moving into the dorms, she knew she was going to spend the night drinking whatever alcohol Coral had managed to sneak in.


	2. Alone Again, Naturally

**A/N: Thank you so much for your input. Now it's time to introduce Maura! :)**

* * *

After spending her junior high and high school years in boarding schools, moving into her dorm room held no real significance for Maura other than the fact that she'd finally be attending the same school as her boyfriend, Garrett. Garrett wasn't the reason she chose to attend BCU, but having him nearby gave her a sense of security and belonging that she never had before.

As an incoming sophomore, Garrett had already found a niche for himself in the same fraternity that his father and grandfather had pledged during their college years and he had put in a good word about Maura to some of the sorority girls. She was going to be in a sorority and go to parties and formal dances with Garrett instead of spending most of her time alone in her dorm like she did in high school and junior high while the other girls went on daytrips and had dinner together.

Boys weren't allowed overnight in the dorms of her all-girls high school, so her only chances of spending time with Garrett last year were if she took a train to BCU. Taking a train ride every other weekend was tedious, but it gave her an opportunity to do her homework so she'd have the rest of the weekend to spend with her boyfriend. While she was there, he'd take her on dates and include her in activities with his fraternity brothers, but the highlight of her trips was when he'd hold her hand as he showed her around campus. There were quaint little coffee shops and a library for each department and it wasn't long before she fell in love with BCU (and Garrett).

Her new dorm was nowhere near as spacious as her dorm in boarding school, but it was a private room with a private bathroom and Maura was grateful that she'd never again have to experience the horrors of a messy or loud roommate like she did in high school.

Instead, she had a messy boyfriend with a habit of leaving condom wrappers on the floor next to the bed. She wondered why he could throw the used condoms in the trash right away yet he could never take the wrapper with him although she told him to do so after every time they had sex. "Garrett?"

He got up from the bed before she could even remind him. "I know what you're going to tell me and I'm sorry if I'd rather hold my beautiful girlfriend after sex than worry about some stupid wrapper."

"Garrett," Maura narrowed her eyes.

"I love you," he said as he moved the wrapper from the floor to the trashcan near Maura's desk. "…even if you're a neat freak."

She was caught off guard when he started to get dressed. "You're not staying?"

Garrett pulled over a fraternity t-shirt from last year. "Can't. You know Black Sunday is tomorrow night, Maura. I have stuff to do with my frat, but you're coming over in the morning, right?"

"Right," Maura smiled although she'd rather him spend time with her instead of his fraternity.

"Things are busy right now, but we'll have time together soon," he promised her. "I'll be by your side the whole time during Black Sunday and I'll introduce you to the girls and when Rush starts on Monday you're going to be so wrapped up in it that you'll hardly even notice we're apart. You'll say, 'Garrett Fairfield who? I think he was my boyfriend at some point.'"

Maura resisted the urge to throw her pillow at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." And after a single goodbye kiss, he was out the door.

Black Sunday was the night before the start of Rush Week in which all of BCU's fraternities opened their houses for a block party for the entire student body. It was all Garrett talked about during the summer and Maura was anxious to see if it lived up to the hype. She wished he could be as dedicated to her as he was to his frat but, as a sophomore, Garrett was finally able to move from the dorms to his frat house. This was the happiest she had seen him in the two years that they had been together, so Maura was going to let him enjoy the moment.

They had managed to setup her bedding and Maura had hoped to unpack some more, but it had been weeks since she had seen her boyfriend and, at that moment, the bed was all they needed. Maura had seen Garrett's freshman dorm on several occasions and, if that was any indicator of how he unpacked, she was grateful he had become distracted.

Her Louis Vuitton luggage that was a gift from her mother on her 16th birthday was neatly propped against the wall along with boxes of books and a bag of her toiletries. Just as she was during her high school years, Maura was alone again.


	3. Dress To Impress

Maura had hoped to spend time with Garrett that morning, but she had yet to finish unpacking and she knew she wouldn't be able to enjoy Black Sunday with clothes to put away and boxes stacked in her room, so she called him to reschedule.

"We can have a breakfast date tomorrow morning," Maura suggested.

"We'll probably be too hungover," Garrett pointed out. "We can have lunch instead or we could go back to your room and I'll spend the night with you. I'd ask you to stay here but I don't want to put you through the walk of shame."

"The walk of shame?" Maura asked. Less than twenty-four hours had passed since her college experience had begun and she was already hearing so much new terminology.

"Nevermind," Garrett snickered. "There's going to be a lot of people on frat row so just meet me in front of my house. I'll see you at eight."

There were ten hours left until eight o'clock, but Maura still felt as if she didn't have enough time. Girls usually wore trendy but comfortable clothes to Black Sunday but Garrett had told her to 'look nice.' _Look nice? He's going to be in a t-shirt and jeans. _But she wasn't going to dress for Garrett. It was the day before Rush and Maura was going to dress to impress the executive board members of sorority row. _I'll let him think I'm dressing for him._

* * *

Jane and Coral had been inseparable since they were children and Jane had expected them to be the same way in college. She wanted them to play their drinking game while they attempted to unpack, but when their suitemates invited them to a pre-Black Sunday party at a fraternity house, Coral went without any hesitation.

She may not have had the same upbringing as them, but the more Jane looked at Coral talking to their suitemates, the more she realized Coral resembled them. She was a tall, suntanned blonde with blue eyes like they were and, if she borrowed their clothes, she could be one of them. She didn't want to think of her best friend as deserting her nor did she expect to be Coral's only friend at BCU, but she couldn't handle the thought of Coral becoming one of _them_. They had gone in with an us versus them mentality and Jane was prepared to hold onto that for as long as she could.

Jane had waited for Coral to return in hopes that they'd get to play their drinking game, but all she received was a text message saying she had met some frat guy and she was going to spend the night with him. _It's been six hours since we got here and she's already with some random guy. Maybe I should hookup with somebody. _She had never had a one-night stand before and the thought of doing so, especially with some sorority wannabe, was a hysterical thought for her.

The sound of Coral entering their room woke Jane up the next morning, but she was relieved to see that her friend had made it home safely even if she was a bit disheveled.

"My first ever walk of shame!" Coral said excitedly. "And I don't even feel ashamed. You should try it, Jane."

The walk of shame was something Jane had heard about in movies, but until that moment she hadn't realized people actually used that terminology. "The walk of shame? Me? That'll happen."

"You're right," Coral laughed. "You'll probably have your women come to you. We should have a rule here. If you want to have a girl over, I'm cool with it. Just leave a rubber band or something on the door so I know not to walk in on you."

"You won't walk in on me because I won't be with a girl," Jane pointed out. She wanted to cover her face with her blanket and avoid this conversation, but Coral raced to her bed and got under the covers with her. "Go away. You smell like frat boy."

"Jane?"

"No," Jane groaned. "I know where you're going with this and, no, I don't want a girlfriend."

"A girlfriend?" Coral scoffed. "Jane, that's so high school. We're in college now and you haven't gotten laid since junior year. I know you wouldn't have a one-night stand, but at least have some girl you can hookup with on a regular basis."

"I'm on a Division-I softball team," Jane reminded her. "That and I'm adjusting to college life. I don't have time for girls."

Coral cupped Jane's face with her hands. "You're so beautiful and everything would be easy if I liked girls. We'd be married and have ten kids right now."

"But no," Jane pretended to be sad. "You have to be, as you call it, strictly dickly."

"And you have to be strictly chickly," Coral began. "Which, if you like chicks, there will be plenty of them at Black Sunday, many of whom will probably be drooling all over you. You're kinda like a boy except you're softer and you smell better."

"Assuming I go to Black Sunday…"

"Jane, you have to," Coral pleaded. "Garrett, the guy I hooked up with last night, told me it's _the _event of the year. It's just like a block party and you don't have to be in a sorority or a fraternity or even _want _to be in one. You just go drink and meet new people." When she realized she still wasn't getting through to Jane, she decided to make one final attempt. "You and I don't come from the same background as these people and, yeah, some of them are rich, but that doesn't mean they're bad people. There's snobs at every school and mean girls at every school, but not all of them are like that. Every school, including the schools they came from, had cliques. Some of them were nerds or jocks like us or band geeks. I know we're going to meet with our teams this week and we'll find our niche with them, but why not have a diverse group of friends. I learned a lot last night, Jane. We're going to be here for four years and that's a long ass time for you to be miserable. So, you're going to Black Sunday with me and if it's lame you can leave after an hour."

"Thirty minutes."

"An hour."

"Fine," Jane groaned. She still didn't want to go, but if it meant so much to her best friend, she was willing to sacrifice an hour—but _only _an hour.

* * *

Now that she finished unpacking, Maura felt a sense of accomplishment and she was able to spend three hours getting ready for Black Sunday. She may not have had friends at BCU but she had her boyfriend and that night he was going to show her the ropes of the Greek System and introduce her to some sorority girls. Even if she didn't click with the sorority girls, there'd be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of girls there and Maura figured it would be almost statistically impossible for her not to make at least one friend. _Everything will be different after tonight._

The Beta house was the closest fraternity house to the dorms, but Maura still wished her boyfriend would have been chivalrous enough to escort her instead of making her walk by herself and try to find him in a crowd of people in front of the house.

Everyone was walking in groups or pairs, talking and laughing with longtime friends or even people they had just met the day before and Maura hoped someone—anyone—would invite her to join them.

She had only made it past the quad when a pair of loud girls called her over to join them. "You wanna walk with us?" the blonde girl asked.

Maura knew these girls were different from the type of girls she was used to, the girls who would be Rushing the next day. They weren't dressing to impress anyone, but they still looked cooler than the other girls and Maura found herself wishing she could be like them.

The blonde was in jeggings, a cropped tank, and a backwards snapback and, although she looked attractive, Maura became fixated on the brunette. She admired the way she could pull off wearing denim shorts and a bandeau, her curly hair, her bone structure, her—

"I'm Jane," she said, bringing Maura back from her daze. "And this is Coral."

"I'm Maura," she smiled sheepishly, hoping Jane hadn't caught her staring for too long.

"We're so underdressed," Coral pointed out. "Look at you in your sundress and heels."

"You look per—I mean you look great," Maura reassured them. "Not everyone dresses to impress on Black Sunday. It depends on why you're attending. Are you here to meet sorority girls?"

"Meeting sorority girls is right up Jane's alley," Coral teased and Maura smiled when Jane playfully pushed her friend. "What? You're only showing off your abs to get chicks."

"I'm dressed like this because it's humid," Jane argued. "And there's going to be a bunch of sweaty people and it's probably hotter inside those frat houses than it is outside."

Maura tried her hardest not to look, but her curiosity got the best of her. "Even Maura is looking," Coral brought to Jane's attention.

"I have a boyfriend!" Maura blurted out.

"Okay," Jane laughed. She and Coral were nearly in hysterics and she wondered why she felt the need to share that bit of information.

"What I had meant to say before is if you're here just to enjoy the party, you're dressed perfectly," Maura informed them. "I'm Rushing tomorrow and Black Sunday is a way for me to meet some of the girls beforehand. My boyfriend is a Beta and he's going to introduce me to some of the executive board members of different sororities. I dressed this way to impress the girls, not the boys."

"…Okay," Jane hesitated. "So where are you headed to?"

"Beta," Maura smiled. "Are you going there, too?"

"Eventually," Jane shrugged. "I can't tell the difference between these frats. I'm only obligated to stay here for an hour and then I'm going home."

"I'm going to every house," Coral said excitedly. "Why limit yourself to one house of boys? I'm sure we'll meet up eventually. I'll make Jane stay with me."

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Maura smiled. They were the first people to introduce themselves to her since she arrived at BCU and she wished she didn't have to leave them. "My boyfriend is waiting for me on the Beta house porch and there should be a crowd soon. I don't want to lose him. You can come with me if you'd like."

"No, no, go be lovebirds," Coral insisted. "And go meet your board members. We can try to meet up afterward when you can have some actual fun and not have to impress people…when you can be yourself."

Maura wondered why Coral had used those words, but she wasn't going to ask at the risk of making Garrett wait any longer. "It was nice meeting you," she said before leaving them.

* * *

"Coral!" Jane snapped as soon as Maura had crossed the street. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," she laughed. "Do you think her boyfriend knows she's gay? Do you think she even knows?"

"She's just…nice and she seemed a little lonely," Jane pointed out. "Maybe she wants to make friends and she doesn't know how."

"She's your soulmate," Coral teased. "And I still think she's gay."

"She could be bi or identify herself in some other way," Jane argued. "Just because you're strictly dickly and I'm strictly chickly that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to define sexuality. Besides, she's in a relationship and it's not like I have any shot in hell with her. I'm never going to see her again."

"So you think she's hot?"

"No," Jane scoffed, but Coral had already begun taunting her until the loud music drowned her out.

It was only five minutes after eight, but frat row had already started to draw a larger crowd than Jane had expected. _It's just an hour_, Jane reminded herself. _I only have to endure this for an hour. _


	4. Their Darkest Hour

**A/N: Thank you for your comments on the last chapter. I know this is a slow burn but I hope you enjoy the story, nonetheless. :)**

* * *

As promised, Garrett was waiting for Maura on the front porch of the Beta house, but he wasn't alone. Maura had hoped for time to talk to Garrett alone and maybe receive a pep talk before being introduced to the executive board members of sorority row, but there they were standing next to him and eagerly awaiting Maura's arrival. As a sophomore, Garrett held no important rank in his fraternity, so Maura knew his Big Brother had more than likely arranged this meet and greet. She made a mental note to thank him afterward and added the term 'Big Brother' to her list of college vocabulary words.

The board members looked as if they were dressed for a _Teen Vogue _photoshoot rather than a party and Maura began to wish she had added accessories to her dress instead of going for the simple but stylish look. They were smiling at her, but Maura wondered how genuine their smiles really were. She was confident in the classroom, but even if she'd have Garrett and his Big Brother at her side, she was still worried about how this meeting would affect her chances of receiving any Bids to join a sorority. Maura was in charge of her academic life, but these girls alone would determine the course of her social life. She imagined attending formal with Garrett as her date and going on spring break trips together and living in a house of girls who were her friends and sisters. Maura knew she'd wear her letters with pride and, for the first time in her life, she'd belong.

The girls were representatives from Kappa Gamma Phi, Gamma Pi Delta, Psi Beta Tau, and Rho Zeta Theta-the 'Elite Four' as Garrett had called them. There were more than four sororities on sorority row, but these were the most exclusive and Garrett had stressed the importance of choosing a Greek organization based on popularity.

"You must be Maura," an immaculately-dressed girl said when Maura finally worked up the nerve to climb the stairs to the front porch. They were each wearing lavaliers of their respective sororities and Maura tried to commit the letters to memory. "My name is Abigail and I'm the president of Kappa Gamma Phi. You're as beautiful as Garrett says you are."

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzie," a brunette girl in a yellow sundress said to her. "I'm the vice-president of Psi Beta Tau. I love your dress. Juicy Couture, right?"

"The sale rack at Juicy Couture, maybe," the girl standing next to Lizzie added. She hadn't introduced herself, but Maura read the letters Rho Zeta Theta on her lavalier. "Unless that's an old dress."

"What makes you want to want to join a sorority?" Abigail asked in hopes of changing the subject.

"Besides Garrett," a board member from Gamma Pi Delta cut in, which made Maura giggle for the first time since the conversation began. "I'm Kayla, by the way."

When Garrett kissed her on the cheek, there was a chorus of 'aww' and 'how cute' from three of the girls, but the Rho Zeta Theta rep looked as if the entire conversation was a waste of her time.

"You two are really cute," Lizzie commented.

"Maura brings out that side of me," Garrett bragged. "I think any sorority would be lucky to have her. She speaks three languages, she was valedictorian of her class, and she was in fencing and ballet."

"She would be a great Kappa," Abigail smiled.

"You mean she would be a great Psi Beta Tau," Lizzie corrected her. "But why do you want to be in a sorority?"

Maura had researched the history of sororities and statistics related to sororities and she'd have told them the entire history had Garrett not warned her about being 'wordy.' "The reason I want to join a sorority…" Maura hesitated. "I received a recruitment flier last year when I helped Garrett move into his dorm and, on that flier were the words, '_College ends, but sisterhood is forever' _and that's what I'm looking for. I want to join a sorority not solely for parties and spring break trips, but to foster the bonds of sisterhood and make lifelong friends." When she noticed every girl but the Rho Zeta Theta rep was interested in what she had to say, Maura decided to continue. "The history of sororities dates back to before the Civil War, when secret literary societies for women began to spring up at colleges to help women cope with being in a predominantly male environment. These literary societies soon gave birth to the American Sorority system. As of today there are nearly five million women worldwide who have been initiated into sororities, which means there are five million women who are still honoring traditions that have been passed down for over a century and-"

"She can be wordy," Garrett interrupted.

Abigail glared at him. "Let her _finish_."

Garrett had been in charge all throughout their relationship and, even if she'd never admit it, Maura enjoyed seeing someone take charge over him. "What I was going to say before I was interrupted is that it'd be an honor to be a part of any one of your organizations."

"It was nice to meet you, Maura," Lizzie told her after the three of them made small talk with her about campus life and what classes she was taking. "Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow."

Although she felt as if she made a good impression on three out of four of the girls, Maura was relieved when she was finally alone with Garrett. She reached out to hold his hand, but instead he pulled her in so he could hold her. "You did great."

Maura raised her eyebrow. "I wasn't wordy?"

"You always are," Garrett said before kissing her. "But I think you really impressed them. Tomorrow night at Rush, work hard to impress whoever you're talking to from Rho Zeta Theta."

"Their president wasn't very friendly," Maura averted her eyes. "She reminded me of the girls who made fun of me in high school."

"But you're not in high school anymore," Garrett pointed out. "And they're our sister sorority. I just want you to have the best and, speaking of the best, I have something for you in my room."

"Garrett," Maura smiled. "_That _can wait until we get to my room tonight."

"I think about more than sex," he said after kissing her yet again. "This is an _actual_ gift that I've been meaning to give you."

Maura didn't want to be upstairs in Garrett's room and miss the party, but her curiosity about the gift got the best of her, so she let him take her hand and lead her upstairs to Garrett's new room. It was untidy just as she had expected and she noticed that he hadn't fully unpacked anything other than his bedding and a few items of clothing. Garrett had once been so organized and sharply dressed, but now that he was in a fraternity, she noticed more than his wardrobe had changed. He cared more about his fraternity than her and Maura had started to notice that he was trying to change her into someone she wasn't.

The more time she spent in his room, the more that feeling began to overwhelm her. "Garrett, we need to talk," she said, but he was too busy grabbing her gift from his drawer to pay attention to her. She was about to make another attempt at getting his attention when a condom wrapper next to his bed caught her eye. "Garrett?"

"What?" he asked as he made his way back to her with a rectangular jewelry box in his hand.

"Why is there a condom wrapper next to your bed?" she tried to ask calmly.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It's probably one of my roommates who left it there."

"By _your _bed?" Maura asked. "And it's the same brand and the same type that we use. Garrett, you know I'm very particular about the brand we use and that wrapper is the same brand." He set the jewelry box on his bed and attempted to hold her, but Maura thwarted every attempt. "Don't touch me!"

"Maura, relax. One of my roommates had a girl over last night and I let him use one because he didn't have any."

"Earlier you said you didn't know and it was probably one of your roommates that left it there. Now you're saying for certain that you let one of your roommates use one? Which is it, Garrett?" Maura no longer tried to be calm. "Does your roommate also have the same habit of leaving the wrapper on the floor next to the bed-_your_ bed?"

"Maura-"

"You could have thrown the wrapper away," Maura scoffed. "You could have thrown the wrapper away and I wouldn't have known. I would have played the role of the adoring girlfriend and pretended that we had a perfect relationship."

"Maura-" he wanted to explain, but she interrupted him once again. At that moment, Maura didn't want to know why he had cheated or who the girl was. All that mattered to her was that he had been unfaithful.

"I'm in love with you," she sobbed. "I never expected you to hurt me like this."

She waited for an apology, but there was none and Garrett made no further attempt to hold her. Although Maura had told him not to come after her when she left, she held on to the slightest bit of hope that Garrett would try to stop her. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend none of this was real. She thought of vacationing with him in Cape Cod this past summer and him making love to her on the beach late at night. She thought of every time he called her to cheer her up when she was lonely at school and every bouquet of flowers he had sent to her just because he wanted her to have little reasons to smile. But it was all over and, after five minutes of waiting outside his door, she realized he wasn't going to come after her.

* * *

Jane had stayed at the Black Sunday festivities for an hour as she had promised, but as soon as the hour was up, she told Coral she was going to leave. Jane wouldn't have stayed even if Coral had begged her, but she was disappointed to see that her friend didn't put up the slightest protest and barely acknowledged Jane's presence. Instead of saying goodbye, she simply waved Jane off while her lips never left those of some frat guy she had been making out with for the past ten minutes.

Coral had spent the first fifty minutes of Black Sunday with Jane, but Jane knew she was just biding her time until she found the guy she wanted to hook up with. Jane would admit that he was attractive, but she didn't understand the appeal of making out-or going any further-with someone she knew nothing about other than their first name. While there, she had caught the eye of one or two girls and, although they were beautiful, she was sober and they were intoxicated so Jane didn't bother approaching them to make conversation.

_Two guys in twenty-four hours_, Jane shook her head. She knew it was Coral's right to hook up with as many guys as she wanted as long as it was consensual, but she missed the days when their friendship was enough and they'd put each other first. Although there was the occasional guy for Coral and Jane had a girlfriend throughout sophomore and junior year, their friendship was a priority and they promised to be there for each other no matter what and Jane had always assumed that no matter what would also include being there for each other while adjusting to college life.

As she walked back to the dorms, Jane began to wonder if Coral was going to make a habit of ditching her for guys and if they'd eventually become merely roommates and acquaintances instead of best friends. Growing up in a house with two brothers meant Jane was never alone even if she wanted to be, but at BCU she had nobody coming to her room asking her if she wanted to play one-on-one or banging on her door just for the sake of annoying her. Her brother Frankie was only two years younger than her and Jane knew he'd love to hangout at a college campus that night, but she was too embarrassed to call him and ask him to come over because she didn't want to admit her loneliness to him or anybody else. She was in college now and these were supposed to be the best four years of her life, _so why am I so miserable? Why can't I be like the thousands of people having fun on Black Sunday?_

She turned around to take one last look at the party and, by chance, she found her solace in the form of a beautiful girl in a sundress and strawberry blonde curls. "Maura!"

Jane figured Maura was probably going to spend time with her boyfriend later that night, but she still made her way over there in hopes that they'd be able to, at the very least, walk to their dorms together.

"Jane!"

The closer she got to Maura, the more evident it became that she had been crying and it nearly broke Jane's heart to see Maura attempt to smile. For a girl that, just an hour ago, had been so excited about Black Sunday to now be crying by herself, Jane knew something traumatic must have happened and she had a feeling she knew what it was. Jane had seen that look before; it was the same look she had on her face in junior year when she found out her girlfriend had cheated on her.

After seeing Maura, all Jane wanted was to set her problems with college life and Coral aside for the night. Maura looked as if she needed a friend and Jane was going to do all she could to make the night better for her.


	5. An Acquired Taste

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your comments and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)**

* * *

Maura was face-to-face with the only person at BCU whom she could possibly consider a friend and she had no idea what to say to her. She knew Jane would ask why she was crying and, at that moment, she wished she were able to lie. She could tell Jane that the meeting with the executive board members didn't go as planned or that she wasn't feeling well—anything would have been better than the truth.

"I know that look," Jane said, bringing Maura out of her trance.

"Which look?"

"Do you me to walk you to your dorm?"

Maura was grateful for the offer, but she wanted to be anywhere other than her dorm. Her dorm room was lonely and, although she had only lived there for a day, it still held memories of Garrett. "Thank you, but I don't want to go to my dorm."

"Do you want to go for a walk then?" Jane asked. "I know it's not the most exciting activity, but I figure if you left Black Sunday you're probably looking for something low-key. Or we could go to a coffee shop or—"

"A walk is fine," Maura interrupted her. "I used to go for walks with Garrett last year, but never at night. I always wanted to go for a walk on campus at night."

Jane smiled at her, which made Maura smile in return. "Then we'll go for a walk. Just let me get my jacket. You can come with me if you'd like."

"I'd love to!" Maura said a little more eager than she had hoped. It was her first time getting invited to another girl's dorm room and even that bit of college normalcy was enough to take her mind off what had happened with Garrett. She had always imagined casually showing up at a friend's dorm room just to hang out and it was finally going to happen for her.

* * *

Jane didn't expect to have company that night—or any night in the near future—so she hadn't paid attention to the state of her dorm room before leaving for Black Sunday. Were there dirty clothes on the floor? Had she made her bed? Was there anything Maura would find offensive? _The BCU Drinking Game!_ The rules of the drinking game were displayed on their wall and now that Maura was going to come over, even for a brief moment while she grabbed her jacket, Jane had started to regret that decision.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Jane said as she gestured toward her side of the room. She had hoped to distract Maura long enough to pull the drinking game rules off the wall, but it was to no avail. Her focus immediately shifted from Jane's side of the room to the drinking game rules hanging near Coral's desk.

"The BCU Drinking Game?" Maura asked. "What's that?"

Jane tried to brush it off. "Just something Coral and I came up with when we were bored. I'm going to get my jacket and then we can leave."

"No," Maura smiled. "This might be fun."

"Yeah," Jane smiled in return. "It could be." After what Maura had been through, Jane was more than willing to participate in any activity she wanted, but she became nervous when she saw Maura's smile quickly fade.

"_Take a shot for every time you see a girl with Louis Vuitton luggage_," Maura read aloud.

"Yeah," Jane snickered. "But that's kind of a bogus rule, I guess. We've only seen one girl with Louis Vuitton luggage."

She noticed Maura's demeanor start to change. The once friendly girl had now become combative. "Was it white with multicolor Louis Vuitton logos?"

"…yeah," Jane hesitated. "Don't tell me she's someone you know. Maura, I'm so sorry."

"She's _me_," Maura glared at her. "That luggage set was a graduation gift from my grandmother. I was elated when she gave it to me."

"Maura, I'm so sorry," Jane repeated, but Maura wasn't paying attention to her.

"So you were making fun of me? Can we add 'take a shot for every time you encounter someone who stereotypes people she doesn't know?'" Maura raised her eyebrow. "If so, I need to take one right now. Or how about 'take a shot for every time you meet a self-righteous person who is really no better than everyone else.'"

"Maura—"

"Or maybe we can take a shot for every time my boyfriend lied about being in love with me or every time he made me feel like I wasn't good enough, or maybe—"

Maura had begun sobbing too much to finish her sentence and, although she wasn't sure if it'd be a welcomed gesture, Jane decided to wrap her arms around her. "I know this probably doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your boyfriend and I'm sorry about this stupid drinking game. It was just something that Coral and I came up with and I know that doesn't justify it, but I'll take it down."

"It's not the game," Maura wiped her eyes. "To be honest, I don't even like most of the people you described in your game. They were the ones who excluded me from all their activities in junior high and high school."

"How about if I cross Louis Vuitton luggage girl off the list?" Jane asked in hopes of adding some levity to the situation.

"No," Maura smiled. "I like the idea of you having to take a shot every time you see me."

"That's not how it works," Jane pointed out. "I have to see you with the luggage. I can't just see _you_."

Jane didn't want to admit it to herself, but she felt disappointed when Maura left her embrace to grab a pen from Coral's desk. "I'm amending the rules. '_Take a shot for every time you see Louis Vuitton Luggage Girl_," Maura read aloud.

"I'd have to see you again for that rule to be effective," Jane winked at her. She wanted to see Maura again, but she had gotten so caught up in the moment that she failed to remember what had happened to Maura just minutes ago. "…see you as friends," Jane added as a precaution.

"What else would we be?" Maura averted her eyes. "You should get your jacket."

_My jacket! _Her conversation with Maura had made her forget why they were in her room to begin with. She grabbed the nearest zip-up hoodie and put it on while Maura continued to look at the drinking game rules. "We can play the game if you want," Jane suggested. "You keep looking at it, so I wasn't sure if you wanted to…"

Maura shook her head. "I'm not ready for a drinking game after all, but I'll take a drink if you have one."

_A drink_, Jane thought. _I don't even know how to mix anything_. She sifted through the mini-fridge and found nothing but a few cans of root beer to add to the vodka that Coral kept in water bottles under her bed. "Umm, I have vodka and root beer, but I don't have any cups." _Really, no cups? _She remembered an empty flask she had received as a going away to college gift from her older cousin. "But I have a flask. We can mix it in there!"

"Sure," Maura smiled. "Vodka and root beer actually sounds appealing right now. Don't forget you have to take a shot for being in the presence of Louis Vuitton Luggage Girl."

"Maura—"

Maura crossed her arms. "I'm waiting."

_So much for our walk_, Jane thought as she chugged from the vodka-filled water bottle. There was no way of measuring how much vodka constituted an average-sized shot, so she figured chugging from the bottle for two seconds was sufficient. Her distorted facial expression after taking a shot elicited the cutest giggle from Maura and if that's all Jane had to do to cheer Maura up, she was more than willing to take another. But she added a rule, Jane recalled. It's her turn. "Take a shot for every time you meet a self-righteous person who really isn't better than anyone else," Jane reminded her. "I believe you came up with that rule and, since I'm a self-righteous ass, you have to take a shot."

"How is this making you less of an…ass?" Maura asked as Jane handed her the water bottle.

"It's not," Jane shrugged. "But you're the one who made that rule." Maura took a single sip from the water bottle and Jane tried unsuccessfully not to laugh as Maura tried her hardest not to spit it out. "Sorry it's not Grey Goose or Belvedere."

"It's fine," Maura attempted to say while coughing. "What is it?"

"I don't know, but it's disgusting." Jane sat on her bed and motioned for Maura to sit next to her. "It's something Coral's older cousin gave to her and, when you're underage, you kinda just take what you can get."

"Maybe it's an acquired taste," Maura said as she sat next to Jane.

They both took a second sip, but it proved to be no better than the first. "Maura, I don't think this is vodka. It tastes like Everclear. "

Maura took another sip, this time without distorting her face. "What's Everclear?"

"It's grain alcohol," Jane informed her. "I don't know if it's 151 proof or 190 proof. Does it matter?"

"My boyfriend cheated on me," Maura blurted out. "Alcohol content doesn't matter tonight."

"We can use the root beer as a chaser or mix it in my flask," Jane suggested, but Maura shook her head. "Yeah, that really doesn't sound appealing. I guess we'll drink it straight from the bottle." Jane paused in hopes that Maura would try to talk her out of it, but Maura had begun drinking from the bottle again. "Maura, take it easy."

"You need to catch up," Maura said as she handed the bottle to Jane.

"Maybe we should just talk things over instead of drinking," Jane suggested, although she was tempted to take another sip from the bottle.

"I don't want to talk about Garrett," Maura admitted.

The sound of his name made Jane want to spit out her drink. It wasn't the first time Maura had said his name that night but it was the first time Jane realized his name sounded familiar. _Coral was the girl he slept with? She can't be. Coral wouldn't do that…unless she didn't know. Garrett is a popular preppy name. I'm sure he's not the only Garrett on frat row and Coral isn't the kind of girl to sleep with someone's boyfriend._

Jane didn't want to upset Maura by telling her something that might be false information, so she took another sip and tried to think of a new conversation topic. She knew almost nothing about Maura, which meant there were plenty of questions she could ask about her major or even what she did over the summer, but the more she drank, the more she thought about Maura and Garrett and how she was also cheated on when she was in high school.

Jane handed Maura the bottle after taking an even bigger sip. "Why do they think they can do this?"

"Do what?" Maura asked.

"Cheat," Jane responded. Sharing a bottle with Maura made her feel like a bad hostess, so she decided to grab another one from underneath Coral's bed. "You're my guest and guests should have their own bottle."

"No," Maura insisted. "I like sharing with you."

"I like sharing with you, too!" Jane said in an unusually high-pitched voice. She was always affectionate in her drunken state and that affection was usually aimed at Coral. They had never kissed—nor did they have the desire to—but there were plenty of hugs and the occasional cuddling. Without Coral in her presence, Jane wondered if she could be affectionate with Maura. "Can I hug you?"

"Yes!" Maura beamed. "Can I hug you first?" Before Jane could respond, Maura pulled Jane on top of her. "I've never cuddled with a girl before or done anything else with a girl before."

Jane felt her heart race when Maura winked at her and she had to control every urge to kiss her regardless of how blatantly obvious Maura's flirtation was. _She's been drinking and her boyfriend cheated on her. Don't take advantage of her when she's vulnerable. _"Girls are just as assy as guys," Jane said to change the subject. "There's nothing great about girls."

"That's where we differ," Maura said as she dragged her fingertips along Jane's abs. "Girls are soft and sexy and—"

"Maura—"

"What?" Maura asked, but Jane had nothing to say to her.

* * *

They sat up in awkward silence with nothing but the leftover alcohol in their bottles to take their minds off of the tension. One sip became two until both of the bottles were carefully placed on Jane's desk. Maura had drank before with Garrett, but never that much and never anything that strong. "Jane?"

"Hmm?" Jane responded, although she was paying little attention to Maura. "Are you hot in here? I'm hot in here." Her jacket was soon thrown across the room and, much to Maura's dismay, Jane's bandeau wasn't next.

"Why do you feel so negatively about girls?"

"I don't," Jane scoffed. "I feel negatively about one girl because I gave her everything and received nothing in return. I gave her two years of my life, my virginity, my trust, my love and then I get a text message saying, '_I met someone_.' No face-to-face talk or even a break-up via phone call. Just a text message and then a few hours later, she started posting pics on Instagram of herself kissing this girl and she deleted every pic of the two of us together like everything we had meant nothing to her."

"Because we meant nothing to them," Maura cut in. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have said such harsh words, but the alcohol had gotten the best of her and neither were able to control their emotions. "We were a way for them to pass the time."

"Yes!" Jane slammed her hand on the bed. "And what bothers me the most is that she was a freshman in college when I was still a junior in high school, so there was an entire year of me not seeing her all the time and not knowing what or who she was doing when she went to parties. She couldn't have just met this girl the same day she broke up with me and then all of a sudden they're in a relationship. No, she had to be fucking around on me when I was still completely devoted to her and sending her care packages and saving my allowance so I could go see her. I did so much because I thought we were in love, but now that I look back, it was all one-sided. She was so beautiful. I used to think she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," Jane paused to hold Maura's hand. "Until tonight."

"Stop," Maura blushed. She revelled in the physical contact Jane had made with her and she hoped it wasn't too unwarranted when she lifted Jane's hand up to her lips and placed a single kiss on her hand.

"Tell me…tell me about Garrett," Jane said she freed her hand from Maura's grasp.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Jane insisted. "I loved it. I mean, it was fine."

"It wasn't always bad," Maura began. "In reference to Garrett, not kissing your hand. Kissing your hand was never bad. It's—my relationship with him changed when he started college and, he says he loves me, but what he loves is who I could be. He has an idea of his perfect woman and, rather than try to find someone with those qualities, he chose to change who I am so I could be his perfect woman. I don't know if he was faithful to me last year and I don't want to know, but I'm curious if he treated the other girl the way he treated me. Sex with Garrett was usually so quick and clumsy. Occasionally it was pleasurable and I loved him too much to point out his shortcomings, but I could never lie to him and say he was good. I was merely a vessel for his pleasure and he refused to perform oral sex on me regardless of how many times I asked him to."

"What?" Jane asked in disbelief. "He never went down on you?"

"No."

"And you gave him head?"

"Jane!" Maura had started to become annoyed.

"No offense, but if you had to suck his—"

"Jane!" Maura repeated. "He thought I was gross."

Maura felt her heart race when Jane leaned into her. "I bet you taste perfect," she whispered into her ear and just the sound of Jane's voice made her whole body tingle.

The tension was becoming too great for Maura and she was left with two decisions. She could suggest they go for a walk as planned or she could kiss Jane and see where that single kiss would lead.


	6. The Morning After

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates, but I hope this _slightly _longer chapter makes up for it. Thank you so much for your continued support. :)**

* * *

Maura wasn't a cuddler, especially after sex. Garrett had attempted on several occasions and Maura would impede each attempt with an excuse. She enjoyed every opportunity she was given to spend the night with him, but-with Garrett-cuddling often led to more sex and more frustration for Maura. There were moments when sex with Garrett was pleasurable and she enjoyed the intimacy they shared, but he never wanted to touch her the way she wanted to be touched. What he considered foreplay, Maura considered nothing more than a quick fumbling and, for all the times he had sex with her over the course of their relationship, Maura felt as if he still knew nothing about her body and the ways she could respond to sexual pleasure. _I'm a girl, not hole in the wall_, she wanted to tell him, but he always looked so pleased with himself to pay attention to her needs and she knew the thought of performing oral sex on her disgusted him regardless of how much it'd turn her on.

Maura had never orgasmed during sex and she wasn't sure if Garrett either didn't know or didn't care. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was because he didn't know, but regardless she knew her only opportunity for orgasm was self-gratification through manual stimulation and-only recently-the vibrator she had purchased as a gift for herself on her eighteenth birthday.

She woke up feeling her naked body against the cold sheets and, in her half-asleep state, she wondered if she had used her vibrator before bed until she felt herself wrapped up in someone's embrace. _Garrett knows I don't like cuddling. I've told him countless times. _But these arms weren't Garrett's. Although they were muscular, they were thinner and softer. It was almost as if they belonged to-

"Are you awake?" she heard Jane ask nervously. _Jane?_

Maura abruptly opened her eyes to find Jane with a worried look on her face. Just a couple of days prior, she was in that bed with Garrett and now she was lying naked next to a girl she knew so little about. Jane was beautiful and Maura had always thought confidence came with beauty, but Jane's body was just as covered as hers was. "Did we…?"

"I think so," Jane averted her eyes. "We're both naked and your sheets are still wet."

Not wanting Jane to feel uncomfortable, Maura moved closer to her. The closer she moved to the center of the bed the more she felt the wet spot on the sheets that Jane had mentioned. _The sheets have never been this wet before. _"It's so wet," Maura blurted out. She had meant it in reference to the sheets, but when Jane started laughing she realized she should have worded that differently.

"I vaguely remember you saying that last night," she teased. "I know this is probably a stupid question, but do you want me to let go of you? Not all girls like to cuddle and I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I'm not a cuddler," Maura pointed out, but she stopped Jane as she was about to let go of her. "But cuddling feels different with you." And it did. Jane might have thought her question was stupid, but it was the first time Maura had been asked what her preference was. She had only known her for a few hours and Jane had already shown her more consideration than Garrett ever had while they were in bed.

"Maura?"

"Yes?"

She noticed Jane start to look at their surroundings. "I know we had sex and how we got to that point is a mystery in and of itself, but right now I'm more concerned with how we got to your room. The last thing I remember is drinking in _my_ room. We don't even live in the same building, Maura."

"I-I don't even know," Maura smiled. "I'm not sure I want to find out."

"Think about it," Jane said excitedly, which made Maura smile even more. "How drunk must we have been to get from my dorm to your dorm, have sex, and not remember any of it."

"It's the Everclear," Maura added.

"We survived and we're not even hungover!"

They went on about their newly-discovered tolerance level and, as much fun as Maura was having, she knew the small talk was merely a way to distract them from the nervousness and confusion they were feeling.

She had never had sex with a girl before, but Maura had been aware of her attraction to girls since junior high. What bothered her was the fact that her boyfriend had cheated on her yet all she could focus on was what she had experienced with Jane. She wanted to remember every detail, but she couldn't even recall their first kiss or how they had ended up in her room. Did she taste Jane? Did Jane taste her? She could tell that she had an orgasm during sex with Jane, but what did Jane do that Garrett never did?

* * *

_She's not Jocelyn_, Jane reminded herself as she cuddled with Maura.

When Jane bit some of the skin on her lip, it became evident once again that Maura wasn't Jocelyn, her ex-girlfriend. She couldn't remember going down on Maura, but the taste of Maura's arousal was still on her lips. She wondered why some guys said girls tasted like peaches or strawberries or all these other fruits they named while talking about what it was like to go down on a girl and she came to the conclusion that those who said it tasted like a fruit had probably never eaten a girl out. Girls didn't taste sweet and she couldn't exactly describe what the flavor was, but she loved the way Maura's cum tasted on her lips and, if the circumstances were different, she'd have gone down on Maura right then and there. "Remember last night when I said I bet you taste perfect?"

"Yeah," Maura nervously responded.

"I was right."

Jane wasn't sure what reaction she expected from Maura, but her looking at the clock and gasping wasn't one of them. "Jane, we need to get out of bed."

"Why? Was it something I said?"

"No," Maura reassured her. "I'd cuddle with you the entire day if I could, but it's three o'clock and I have to get ready for Rush."

In the midst of everything that had happened, Jane had completely forgotten about Rush. "I forgot I was dating a sorority girl."

"Dating?"

Dating. She hadn't meant to say that word, but sex without commitment was a foreign concept for Jane. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Maura smiled. "This is new to me, too. I've only been with Garrett and you've only been with your ex-girlfriend. I'm not sure how this works. Do I give you my phone number? Do you give me yours? Should we meet up for lunch or frozen yogurt? Do we act like this didn't happen and just casually smile at each other when our paths cross? I couldn't do that."

"Then let's not do that," Jane said before kissing her cheek. "You found out about Garrett just yesterday and you're in no position to decide anything right now. I'll give you my number and, if you wanna hang out or if you just want someone to talk to, you can call me or text me. When we started drinking, you said Garrett tried to make your decisions for you and turn you into someone you aren't, so I'm leaving you in control of this. You can define whatever this is on your own terms."

"But what about you?"

She showed so much concern with just those three words and, if it weren't for Rush, Jane would have held onto her for the rest of the day, but the longer she held Maura the more she wanted to learn about her and she feared the outcome of their situation. Yes, she had wanted Maura to define the situation on her own terms, but she imagined what it'd be like to date Maura and listen to her talk about her sorority. _I'd even listen to her talk about her sorority. It's time to go. _"Don't worry about me. You need to think about yourself."

Jane knew the more time she spent talking to Maura, the less time Maura would have to get ready for Rush and she felt as if it'd be selfish to keep her any longer. Her clothes and underwear were scattered on the floor and she blushed when she began to collect them. Maura had already seen her naked or so she had assumed after waking up naked with her, but now that they were no longer under the covers, this was the first time she had been so exposed in front of a girl that wasn't her ex-girlfriend.

She quickly glanced in Maura's direction and she noticed Maura wasn't eyeing her the way she had the night before. Was she disinterested or was she just trying to be polite? The thought of Maura being disinterested bothered Jane more than she'd like to admit.

"Jane?"

"Yeah?"

She waited until Jane was fully clothed to respond. "I peeked at you when you weren't looking."

"I'm peeking at you right now." Jane said, her eyes completely fixated on Maura's chest. She recalled the days when just the sight of breasts was enough to soak her underwear, but that was age sixteen and, at eighteen, she was finally able to keep her composure, or so she hoped.

"I wanted you to," Maura smiled. "That's why I uncovered myself. My phone is on my desk. You can add your name and number."

There was an awkward goodbye after Jane added herself to Maura's contacts and she was left to wonder if she'd ever hear from Maura or see her again.

The walk back to her dorm was long, but she felt more sadness than shame during her 'Walk of Shame.' _How does Coral do this?_

Jane hadn't expected to see her best friend in their dorm, so it was a pleasant surprise when she saw Coral smiling at her from her bed. "You fucking temptress," Coral shook her head. "Maura didn't stand a chance." Jane began to wonder how Coral knew she was with Maura. _There were thousands of girls at Black Sunday. It could have been any of them. _"Before you ask, I'm just going to say that I walked in on you but you were so drunk that you didn't even care."

"Coral," Jane said as she laid down next to her. "What do you know?"

"You gave her the hot Jane injection," Coral laughed. "Jane, you were fingering the hell out of that girl and she was so into it. I think the entire building heard you two. You seriously don't remember?"

"_No_," Jane stressed. "That's why I'm asking you and those aren't the details I want to know. I want to know how we got from here to her dorm and was she okay? Was she crying? Did she seem sad at all?"

"She was crying, but it was more like crying in ecstasy."

"Why am I still friends with you?" Jane made an attempt to get away, but Coral wrapped her arms around her so she couldn't leave her bed.

"Because you love me and we're in a platonic marriage," Coral responded. "And I don't know everything that happened, but I can tell you what I do know, which probably isn't much because I didn't get home until two in the morning. That's when I walked in on you. You two were just doing it on the floor. She still had her dress on, but you were topless and I saw her...umm...nether region when you were in her and you told me to leave, but Maura stopped you and suggested you go to her room."

"And she was okay?"

"Jane, for the last time, yes!" Coral reassured her. "I know what you're referring to and, yes, it was me that had sex with her boyfriend, her boyfriend who is now her ex-boyfriend."

"I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but-"

"But what?" Coral interrupted. "Jane, he's a dick and that's what I used him for. Don't get upset with me. He was the one in a relationship and if he really loved Maura, he wouldn't have had sex with me. Jane, you know me." She paused to gauge Jane's reaction. "You know I'd never have sex with a guy if I knew he had a girlfriend. I'm not like that. I didn't know he was with Maura. I was getting a weird vibe from that guy you saw me with, so I went to the Beta house a little while after you left. Garrett tried to hook up with me again and I was going to but some sorority girl was nearby and said, 'Damn, Garrett, you're already over Maura? You just broke up like two seconds ago.' I didn't want to believe her, but then some other girl told me that he cheated on Maura all last year and he's a fucking asshole. He doesn't deserve Maura. You do. I know she was drunk last night but when you two were fully clothed again and kissing before you left, she was so happy, Jane."

"She was drunk."

"She was _happy_," Coral argued. "And you made her that way. Well, you and the Everclear, but mainly you. This is your chance, Jane. Remember when Jocelyn cheated on you and we were talking on my roof and you swore off all girls who weren't your dream girl because you didn't want to get hurt again? How do you know Maura isn't your dream girl?"

Jane was getting annoyed. "I don't want to take advantage of her. She needs time to heal."

"And you can help her in the healing process," Coral insisted. "This is when you swoop in and take her on a date and be her dyke-in-shining armor. If it doesn't work out, at least you have a new friend."

"I don't know," Jane sighed. "I gave her my number and I'll see if she calls."

Coral pinned Jane underneath her. "Don't bitch out. She's not going to call you, Jane. She's sad right now because of that douche Garrett and she'll probably feel as if calling you will make you feel like you're her rebound girl. _You_ have to go to _her_. Rush is tonight and I bet she's nervous. Go take her a flower and tell her how beautiful she looks. Maybe you can even escort her to the quad."

"No," Jane said after pushing Coral off of her. "I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on her. If she wants to hang out, I'm more than happy to hang out. Maybe she's not the type to move on so quickly and she still needs time to get over Garrett."

"She didn't seem like she gave a damn about him when you were inside her."

"And I went down on her," Jane bragged. "Wait, what am I saying? No, I'm doing this on her terms."

"Fine with me," Coral shrugged. "Let her be alone and heartbroken and nervous about calling you while you're holding onto your phone and waiting for her to call. Maybe she'll get tired of waiting for you to make a move and go back to that cheating asshole Garrett. I just...I can't believe I had sex with him, but I'm glad Maura found out because now she can move onto someone who will be faithful to her. Like you. You're like a little puppy when you have a girlfriend. Remember how I kinda teased her yesterday? Well, you were defending her from the start. That's probably more than her ex would have done for her."

"But what if she thinks I'm clingy?"

"What if she doesn't?"

"Coral, you're so frustrating!"

"I know," she smiled. "You'll be thanking me when Maura is your girlfriend and you get to do whatever it is you monogamous people do for fun."

"I'm not saying I'll go to her dorm," Jane began. "But I might think about possibly going."

"Or you can see her when you escort me to the quad before Rush. By the way, I'm Rushing."

Jane nearly fell off the bed. "_Really?_ You want to be a sorority girl now."

"Yeah," Coral said nonchalantly. "This place doesn't suck as much as we thought it did when we moved in and maybe it'd suck a lot less for you if you went to see Maura, but take a shower first because you smell like sex and alcohol."

* * *

Maura wasn't expecting company when she heard a knock on the door and she felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of Jane stopping by to see her before Rush. She had just put the finishing touches on her hair and she had already applied all of her make up except for her lip gloss, but she figured the lip gloss could wait. _Jane is more important._

Maura flung the door open, expecting to see Jane on the other side, but it wasn't Jane and her dimpled smile waiting for her.

"Garrett?" Maura was taken aback. He was in a pair of slacks and a white button-up shirt as opposed to the jeans and fraternity t-shirt she had seen him in yesterday and, although she didn't want to dwell on it, he looked like the guy she had fallen in love with in high school. "What are you doing here?"

"Were you expecting someone else?"

She wanted to tell him about Jane, but after what he had done to her she knew she didn't owe him an explanation. "I wasn't expecting someone else, but I was hoping it'd be someone else. Garrett, I need to leave soon. I don't want to be late for Rush."

"I didn't forget about Rush," Garrett smirked. "Maura, I'm actually _in _a fraternity. I'm not a Rushee like you are."

_A snide remark instead of an apology. _"Whatever you have to say to me, please make it brief."

He showed her the same rectangular jewelry box that he meant to give her last night and, although she wouldn't have accepted any jewelry he wanted to give her, she became infuriated when she saw his lavalier. "I was hoping you'd wear this."

"Your lavalier?" Maura asked. "Garrett, I know I'm not in a sorority yet, but I'm aware of the significance of being given a lavalier. Wearing your boyfriend's lavalier is a sign of commitment and for a guy to give a girl his lavalier means he someday wants to marry her. What I don't understand is how you had the audacity to give this to me after having sex with another girl. I don't even know if that's the only time you've cheated on me. What did you do last year when I was still in boarding school? I-I can't accept this, Garrett, and I can't be with you."

"Maura, I made a mistake and I'm sorry. We can get past this," Garrett pleaded. "You know how much I love you and I know you love me, too."

"But I can't trust you," Maura tried not to sob. "You claimed to be in love with me and yet you had sex with another girl. I deserve better than this. I deserve someone who doesn't want to change everything I am, someone who makes love to me instead of using me for their own pleasure." Garrett tried to hold her, but Maura thwarted his attempt. "Please leave now."

And without any further arguments, she was left to cry alone in her dorm.


End file.
